In 1965, the American Football League (AFL), which later merged with the NFL in 1969, actually played an active part in the civil rights movement of the era and the creation of a country that would “work better” for People of Colour.

The patriotism on display at NFL games, then, has long been one fuelled by agendas and policy, and not ‘simply’ patriotism. Protesting the policy of a state that continues to disproportionately kill, imprison, and exploit its Black peoples and People of Colour with impunity, then, should have as much place on the field as the paid promotion of the same state’s policies. Despite the front of unity that various NFL teams have presented this past week in the face of Donald Trump’s comments, it cannot override Colin Kaepernick’s original intention: to protest racial mistreatment. His kneel was not a protest against Donald Trump in particular. Standing in a stadium in Alabama calling for the silencing of predominantly Black protestors is as racist an overture as can be delivered, but the NFL must consider its own legacy of racism within the larger context of America’s before it can claim to stand (or kneel) for justice.

Comments posted on The McGill Daily's website must abide by our comments policy.A change in our comments policy was enacted on January 23, 2017, closing the comments section of non-editorial posts. Find out more about this change here.